BGT boss Simon Cowell reveals secret battle with shyness and impact on his day-to-day life
BGT judge Simon Cowell has opened up about his shyness, revealing it is the “worst thing in the world”.
The music mogul, 65, has been a staple on screens for years and is famous for his blunt attitude. But it turns out Simon Cowell is “very shy” and desperately struggles to make small talk at events and gatherings.
So much so, he once was so stressed at an A-lister’s party that he had to leave just half an hour after arriving.
Simon has opened up about his shyness (Credit: Britain’s Got Talent/YouTube)
BGT judge Simon Cowell on crippling secret battle
Simon – who is engaged to Lauren Silverman, with whom he has a son Eric aged 11 – appeared on Elizabeth Day’s How To Fail podcast.
During the interview, Simon admitted he is “socially inept” and described making small talk at events as “torture” and “draining”.
The Britain’s Got Talent judge shared: “I am very shy – like I can’t go to a pre-party.”
Simon added on the podcast: “It’s my worst thing in the world – making small talk with people I don’t know. If we have a common subject I’m pretty good.
“But years ago, if I had to go to a party, particularly if you have to stand up with a drink, with horrible food, and just talk to people you don’t know, it’s torture.”
The TV star described making small talk as ‘torture’ (Credit: YouTube)
Simon calls himself ‘hopeless’
Simon then said that it became easier for him to have conversations with strangers once he became famous, as people would usually talk about topics he felt comfortable chatting about.
“So once I was known by people, it was kind of good because it broke the ice with people you meet, so instantly they know you, you’re talking about something I like, which is the shows or the artists or whatever,” he said.
“So it kind of helped me with my shyness,” Simon added.
The father of one also praised partner Lauren Silverman and said: “But still now Lauren is brilliant in these positions. I’m hopeless.”
Simon was ‘dying inside’
Recalling a previous A-list bash, Simon shared: “Joan Collins had a birthday party, and I’m like: ‘How do I get out of it? I can’t.’ And I said to Lauren: ‘I’ll go, but we have to time it, because there’ll be a horrible stand-up pre-drinks.’ I can’t do that.
“At the same time, Joan is a diva, and if you’re late she’ll kill me, so I’m trying to balance everything.”
Simon added: “I think we’ve timed it well. We didn’t. For 45 minutes I had to talk to people and I was dying inside. I was so stressed by the time I got to the table, I left after about 30 minutes. I just can’t deal with it. Draining.”
Simon then described it as one of his failures and admitted: “That is one of them. I am socially inept.”
Read more: BGT hosts Ant and Dec step in as Simon Cowell tries to press golden buzzer for second time
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